By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
How do you celebrate your first district championship this millennium?
The head coach was drenched with water, team pictures were taken and at one point the Webb City boys soccer team took swings at a soccer ball piñata strung from a football goal post.
It was a celebration 23 years in the making as the Cardinals overcame visiting Belton 5-3 in the Class 3 District 6 championship at Cardinal Stadium, claiming the program’s third district title ever and the first since 1999.
It comes after Webb City finished as the district runner up four out of the last five seasons.
“It’s long overdue,” head coach Nick Harmon said. “We’ve been chipping away at it for the last few years and we’ve been so close with some of the past groups of guys. We felt confident from the get go this year.”
But the top-seeded Cardinals, 13-11, had to overcome some adversity to do it. They found themselves in a 2-0 hole in the first half and down 3-2 midway through the second half.
“Going down two nil and battling back in it and winning by two goals, it just shows a lot,” Harmon said. “I think it shows how strong their character is and mentally how tough we were today.”
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Third-seeded Belton, which knocked off McDonald County 2-0 and Willard 5-2 in other district action, scored after a free kick in the eighth minute and took the 2-0 lead in the 35th before Webb City senior Alex Flores knocked in a goal in the 39th minute.
Flores then tied it in the 42nd minute with a sliding shot past a defender.
The Cardinals soon trailed again, though, when Belton scored in the 54th minute to lead 3-2. But less than four minutes later, Flores struck again. This time he wrapped a free kick around the defense and past a diving keeper.
Junior Joshua White gave Webb City its first lead when he scored on a breakaway less than a minute later.
Then, for good measure, Flores added his fourth goal of the night in the 72nd minute. This time he shot and missed, but a teammate collected the rebound and sent it to him for another shot. He didn’t miss the follow up.
“He did what Alex does, honestly,” Harmon said. “He’s been massive for us all year. Even all day in class he was telling me he’s ready, doesn’t feel any pressure, he’s ready for the game. He certainly proved it tonight.”
Flores had some extra motivation for what could have been his final soccer game; he was trying to break the season scoring record of 29 goals set last year by his friend, Tristan Barroeta. Flores entered Thursday with 24 on the year, and now just needs two more to own the record outright.
“It’s just the best feeling ever man,” Flores said of the win. “I’m just so proud of my team. I had faith in them and I just believe in them. It’s great.”
Harmon said his players didn’t seem phased “in the slightest” when they fell down 2-0 in the first half.
“The first goal really gave us a lot of confidence at the end of the half,” he said. “We came out in the second half on the front foot and from there I think it was just all about momentum and confidence.”
The Cardinals get plenty of time to enjoy the win. They won’t play again until Nov. 12 when they face Glendale (23-4) in the Class 3 quarterfinals.
